


The Arena | Haikyuu Fanfiction

by 773_202_LUNA666



Category: Haikyuu!!, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Death, F/F, F/M, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:28:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26742895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/773_202_LUNA666/pseuds/773_202_LUNA666
Summary: Every year 2 tributes from each of the 12 districts are selected to participate in the annual hunger games, a reminder of how "generous" the capital was along with a reminder of the rebellion that seemed so long ago. Volunteers, friendships, romance, skill, and strategy all come into play when the games begin. A fic of Haikyuu in a hunger games setting.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 11





	1. The Reaping

"Everything will be fine," Hinata Shoyo whispered to his younger sister Natsu as he helped her put on the clothes their mother had neatly laid out for her on the bed. The dress was beautiful, a light green color that went well with Natsu's red hair, usually she would be over the moon if given the opportunity to wear such a fancy outfit, as they couldn't afford to wear it often, but given the current circumstances, she would rather watch the dress go up in flames and burn till it's nothing but ashes rather than wear it.

Hinata guided her arms through the sleeves of the green fabric, zipping it up in the back before bringing his hand to the top of Natsu's head, attempted to pat down any wild or unruly strands of hair that always seemed to stick up no matter how much they were brushed down or whatever was applied on top of it. They were so persistent, always going the opposite way of what you would want them too and making their presence known at strange times. The younger girl reached her hand up in a rushed and messy attempt to push her brother's hand away, insisting that her hair looked fine the way it was, she didn't need Hinata to poke and pester at them, that would only make it worse.

"What if I get chosen," Natsu suddenly mumbles under her breath as she played with the hem of her dress, running her fingers over the smooth stitching. She glanced at the spots where the stitching had begun to unravel, she remembers yanking at it when she was a bit younger and the dress was too large for her, her mother quickly jumping in and taking her hand to stop a 9-year-old Natsu from destroying her dress at her fathers funeral.

"You won't be chosen, I promise," Shoyo tried to sound as genuine as possible, hiding his fear behind his words, not wanting his younger sister to understand just how terrified he was. 32 times. His name was floating around that bowl 32 times. Nearly 3 dozen pieces of neatly folded and sealed white paper had the name "Hinata Shoyo" written across them. Those pieces of thick paper were practically a one-way ticket to death, Hinata knew that if he was chosen there was almost no chance of him making it home. He would never see the familiar faces of his district, or be able to smell the fresh forest air that remained unpolluted from the capital, he would never have that chance again.

Throughout the years that the Hunger Games have been going on, the rules had begun to change. Instead of one boy tribute and one girl tribute from each district being expected to show up to the arena and face certain death, any combination could be chosen. The boy's and girl's names were placed together in the same glass bowl, which was chosen from twice. Some years it was both females who were chosen, others both males and some a boy and a girl. So that technically meant Hinata's name was in their 64 times. Every extra time he had his name dropped in was technically multiplied by two because the pool of names was chosen from twice. The thought alone of one of the pieces of paper chosen by Ueda Kiyoshi, who was the escort and advisor for district 12, could contain his name, printed off in black ink.

"But what if I am?" Natsu continued, looking at her brother with wide eyes beginning to brim with tears. It was her first Hunger Games, her first reaping. She had been to every reaping that Sho was apart of, but this time it was different. The idea that she could be chosen made her sick.

"Your name is only in their once, you have almost a 0% chance of being chosen," Hinata attempted to comfort as his mother walked into the bedroom Natsu and Hinata shared, a white button-up shirt and pair of black pants in hand.

"Sho, you need to get ready please," their mother spoke quietly as she handed him the nice-looking clothes. Her face held a look of sadness, and Hinata knew exactly why. She was worried about losing her children, they were all she had left and the thought of losing one of them kept her awake at night. Hinata could tell as the bags beneath her eyes were rather noticeable, they were a dark purple that dusted across her under eye, making it known that she had been up all night tossing and turning. He nodded his head and gratefully took the clothes, sliding out of his current outfit and into the much fancier one. The clothes were soft and fit in a way that was neither too loose nor too tight, Hinata knew he should savor the feeling of the clothes, he only gets to wear such clothes on special events. Like birthdays, funerals, and his least favorite event, the reaping. He buttoned up the top of the shirt, looking into the mirror and smoothing down the collar of the shirt, wanting it to lay flat against his skin.

It was time to go, they needed to leave for the reaping now or risk being late. Depending on how late you were they may think you are attempting to skip the reaping, which could result in imprisonment for life, and that was a risk none of the family wanted to take. Silently they headed out the door, seeing their neighbors and friends walking in a similar unenthusiastic way. Nobody in District 12 looked forward to the reaping, it was almost certain that whoever left for the capital that day would never come back. Shoyo had seen friends, neighbors, and acquaintances get chosen for the brutal games, and to no one's surprise, they never stepped foot on District 12 soil again. Everyone mosied off to the town square, like cattle on the way to be slaughtered. The dirt of the path was clipping at the bottom of Hinata's pants but he didn't pay much attention to it, more focused on the current fears plaguing his mind.

They had reached the check-in area, knowing it was finally time for Shoyo and Natsu to part ways from their mother and each other, their mother reached down and gave them a bone-crushing hug, her arms holding tight around them, never wanting to let go. On the outside, she pretended to be ok, she pretended that she wasn't worried about losing one of the only things that mattered in her life. But on the inside, she was filled with so much pain and worry. It filled her to the brim, some of the pain beginning to show in her eyes that weren't the same warm honey ones the two were used to seeing. They were dark, surrounded by red, tears beginning to pool at the front corners that she refused to let shed.

"I love you," Hinata and Natsu whispered to their mother, who quickly said it back before ushering her children into the lines where their blood would be taken as proof that they were there. She knew if she stayed even a moment longer she wouldn't be able to let them leave, she didn't want them to feel responsible for making her feel happy and unafraid in a time like this.

The two stood in line, giving the peacekeepers their fingers and sighing as they stamped it down onto the sheet of paper before calling out a sudden "next!". Shoyo then walked to the side where all the boys stood in neat rows and Natsu nervously shuffled towards the side with the girls. Although the names weren't separated they still had to be, it made it easier to tell where a person was. If Hinata could he would be standing next to his sister, holding her hand and comforting her through the scary and uncertain times, but he couldn't. The best he could do was offer her a reassuring nod and hoping that she was able to catch her brother's gesture.

Hinata's spiraling thoughts were ended abruptly as he heard someone tapping on a microphone. It was Ueda Kiyoshi, the escort and advisor for district 12. Her hair was short and black, the ends being spiked by hues of pink, bright blue eyeshadow plastered all across her eyelids and long pink lashes fluttering as she blinked. 

"Welcome! Welcome to this year's Hunger games! May the odds ever be in your favor!" She smiled brightly as she looked out into the crowd of terrified people in front of her. Hinata never understood the capital style, in his opinion the bright red lipstick and huge smile made Ueda look like a clown.

"Our first tribute is..." she began as she walked towards the glass bowl sitting daintily on top of a pedestal, containing a sea of white slips of paper, begging not to be chosen. Her hands clad in black gloves fished around the bowl, teasingly grasping different pieces of paper before dropping them back in. When she had found one she thought to be adequate her slender fingers clasped onto it as if it would disappear at any moment. She trotted back over to the microphone, her royal blue heels making a notable clicking noise as she walked across the stage.

Hinata's heart dropped as she watched her unfold the piece of paper, for all he knew it could be his name.

"District 12's first tribute is, Hinata Natsu!" Ueda called out in the same cheery voice she had maintained the entire time. To her, it was just another name. Another tribute she would have to watch come and go. But to Shoyo, that name meant everything. His eyes quickly searched for his sister, spotting her from her red hair amongst a group of girls around her age. She looked terrified, eyes searching back and forth, hoping to find some sort of indication that she was dreaming and that she wasn't really being chosen for the Hunger Games.

"Come on up here sweetheart," Ueda continued in the same fake voice as before, probably growing annoyed that the tribute hadn't made themselves known. Not knowing what else to do, she slowly shuffled through the aisle of people, making her way to the center path that divided the boys and girls.

"Wait!" Shoyo shouted as he pushed his way through the boys surrounding him, he needed to get to the aisle and soon. Peacekeepers quickly reached for him to hold him back, trying to drag him out of the middle but it was no use, as his thrashing and screaming remained persistent.

"I volunteer as tribute! I volunteer!" His voice was hoarse and raspy as he screamed, needing them to hear him. Natsu stood their stunned, her mouth wide open and eyes brimming with tears as she watched her brother make his way towards the stage as a tribute of the Hunger Games. She never thought that she would see the day where her brother would fall victim to the horrors of the capital's sick games.

"District 12's first volunteer! I believe that deserves a round of applause!" Ueda shouted as she began to clap her gloved hands, watching as Shoyo made his way onto the stage. When she received nothing in response to her statement she decided to move on.

"What's your name?" She asked with a smile.

"Hinata Shoyo," he could hardly breath, he felt like the world was spinning and his view was clouding. This was it, this was how he would die.

"And our next tribute is..." she said in an excited tone as she dug through the bowl once again. Hinata didn't know when she had made her way over to the bowl to draw again, he was too out of it to even worry who he would be bringing with him as the other tribute from District 12.

"Kageyama Tobio!" Kiyoshi Ueda's voice echoed through the town square. This was it for them, they had almost no chance of returning and even if they did it would only be one of them.


	2. The train

The crowd stood silent as the black-haired boy made his way down the center path, feet shuffling along the dirt, kicking dust into the air as he went along, in no hurry to reach that stage. His breathing was shaky and his eyes trained on his black shoes, he would usually frown at the way the mud was caking onto his nice shoes, but he couldn't bring himself to show any sort of emotion. From this point on it was about survival, about being tough, about being a winner, he needed to be what the capitol wanted. He was carefully crafting an image in his head of how he should present himself. Should he try and be charming? Hoping to sway female sponsors into supplying him? Or did he need to seem tough, someone that the other tributes wouldn't even dare messing with? He wasn't sure, all he knew was that he was ready to do anything he had to to survive. Unlike Hinata, he wasn't surviving for someone else, he was surviving for himself. He didn't have a sister he was ready to throw himself into a battle for, nor a mother he promised he would return too. All he had was a stone-hard father who could give less of a shit of what happened to Tobio. Hell, he didn't even show up to the reaping, he would probably find out about the unfortunate situation his son had been thrust into through town gossip. But it made no difference to him what happened, he was almost glad that Tobio would be dead and gone. It meant he had one less mouth to feed, and he and his girlfriend could be happy. Her name was Yuko, she had always insisted that Tobio had called her Kanda because it wasn't formal, but he refused.

"Come up here darling," Ueda still kept that sickeningly fake smile plastered across her face as she motioned for him to step up onto the stage and face the rest of his District. He stood to the side of her, the boy named Hinata on the other side. Now that he was close, he got a better look at his fellow tribute, trying his best to figure out who he was or where he would have seen him. Tobio recognized that he had striking red hair, something uncommon amongst the people who lived in the district. It stuck out like a flame amongst rows of burnt-out matches. It made him look different, some saw that as a bad thing, it made it easier to tell who you were. If you did something the capital disliked it was much easier for someone to say "the red-haired boy" and for people to know who it was than if they said "the black-haired boy".

He remembers seeing Hinata at school, they never spoke or interacted, there were very few classes in their meek school so it was no surprise that they had seen each other before. To Hinata, Tobio must have just blended in with the rest of the children, nothing special or notable for him to be remembered by.

"May I present to you this year's tributes! Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Tobio, who will represent District 12 in this year's Hunger Games!" Ueda's voice bellowed out amongst the crowd that was so uncomfortably silent. There were no claps or looks of envy that were common in District 1 and 2, instead, it was just quiet, so incredibly quiet it made even Ueda feel a bit uneased.

The two were escorted into the set of double doors, steady peacemaker hands pushing their backs and urging them forward. They were swept into the building and the doors being quickly shut behind them, not offering any idea as to what the building was to the people standing in the crowd. 

Cold, the building was cold. That was something Kageyama always remembered about it, it felt like the moment you stepped through the doors fists of snow were shoved down the back of your shirt, it reminded Kageyama of the cruel things children used to do on days they had off of school due to the snow. He had turned to look at Hinata a final time before the two were whisked in opposite directions, heading towards different rooms where they were sat down on a wooden chair and left alone as the peacemakers left and shut the door. Tobio had heard whispers and rumors of what the games were like, and from what he had picked up, he assumed this was the last place he would ever get to see his family. 

He didn't want to die, he was nowhere near prepared to die, but he knew it was likely he would. He was from district 12, which meant he had no previous training, but it also meant he would have almost no support from the capital. Tobio knew he was pretty much doomed from the beginning. He sat on the hard chair, staring down at his muddy shoes in distaste, waiting to see who would show up to say goodbye, or if anyone would even show up at all.

"You have three minutes," the peacemaker spat rudely as he swung the heavy door open. Tobio wasn't exactly sure who he was expecting to see, but he couldn't help but scowl as he saw Yuko walk through the door, his father trailing behind.

"Oh Tobio!" She cried out as she lurched forward, wrapping her arms around the boy she genuinely cared about, letting out a messy sob as she ran her fingers through his hair. His father stood behind her, a hand resting on her shoulder slowly rubbing back and forth in a half-assed attempt to comfort her. But why did she need comfort? It wasn't her child, Tobio had only been in her life for the past 2 years, it's not like she had a life long to bond with and grow closer to the boy she had recognized as her own child, acting like she was his mother much to Tobio's annoyance.

"Win," his father muttered out coldy, he couldn't even look at Tobio, his eyes were dancing around the room, focusing in and out on the different fancy and expensive objects that decorated the interior. 

"Please Tobio, you need to try," Yuko continued to weep, acting like his death would have any sort of affect on her. He was relieved when he heard the rude and abrupt knock of the same peacemaker, who didn't bother to wait for a response just opened the door.

"Time is up," he said in a cold and emotionless tone, ushering Yuko and Kageyama's father out of the room, as she walked out Yuko kept up her sobs and whispering I love you's to Tobio, who merely ignored her words and continued with his stoic stance.

Hinata's goodbyes were a complete different story, they were filled with cries and hugs, begs and pleas, and the most heartbreaking part of it, Natsu exclaiming that she was sorry over and over again, believing it to be her fault that her brother could be killed.

The two were brought out of their rooms, and escorted to a weird carrage like thing that would take them to the train station. This very well could be their last time ever seeing District 12, the place they had grown up in, lived in, and known all of their life. The walk was awkward and silent, Kageyama and Hinata were being urged on by the peacemakers while Ueda walked in front of them, her bright pink dress swaying in the wind as her hands remained dantily at her sides.

"Well this is exciting! You two will be off to the capitol, we're expected to arrive before 9 pm," she smiled brightly, it was the same thing she had done every year since she had been employed. It was the same routine over and over. She guides them to the capitol, spends a few days in the penthouse, watches them get terrible ratings, and then die. She had become numb to it at this point, not even batting an eye when one of the tributes was brutally slaughtered.

_____

They had reached the train station, where a large silver train was waiting for them. It was sleek in design, something nicer than Kageyama and Hinata had ever seen in their lives.

"Go on now," Ueda Kiyoshi smiled brightly as she urged them onto the train, excited to see their reactions to the interior. It was fully furnished, gold door knobs, chandeliers, decadent foods, and real working showers, things that Hinata and Kageyama had never had the privilege of seeing. They looked around in awe, eyes catching on different things, their focus switching every minute, studying the finer things that they had never been lucky enough to have.

"How about you two get aquanted and I'll go find your mentor, I'm assuming he's in the bar," Ueda smiled, before rushing off in search of district 12's only hope of winning. The two were left standing in the main room of the train, watching as the door shut, leaving them trapped.

"I'm Hinata Shoyo," the red head had began, sitting down in the plush blue velvet chair positioned near a table where assorted pastries and candies sat. Kageyama saw that as a sign to sit down as well, figuring that if he was going to be sent off and killed, he might as well enjoy the things that came along with it.

"Kageyama Tobio," he responded, watching as Hinata grabbed a handful of candy from the intriquetly designed glass bowl sitting on the table, letting them shift around in his hand before unwrapping one.

"Natsu loves candy," he whispered beneath his breath, dropping the rest of the sweets onto his lap as he began studying the candy like it was the last he would ever see, which is very much possible.

"Is she your sister?" Kageyama asked, trying not to sound to interested in whatever the boy had to say, he wanted to keep up the cold and hard facade he had had since the beginning, but the more he thought about what was going to happen, the harder it was to keep a calm look.

"Yes," Hinata mumbled, eyes still focusing on the bright colored candy, contemplating whether or not it would be ok for him to have such a treat.

"You know, it was really brave what you did. Volunteering for her and all," Tobio sounded genuine when he said it, it was probably one of the first times in his life that his words didn't have some snarky undertone or rude intent, he was honest when he said it, he really did think Hinata was brave for what he did. He didn't believe Hinata was the most intelligent person in the world, he had seen how he was in school, the way he would raise his hand only to say the wrong answer and such. But he knew Hinata wasn't stupid, he was aware that volunteering almost guaranteed his death. He must really love his sister to sacrifice his life for her,

Kageyama was jealous of that, he had never had anyone in his life love him like that. Love him so unconditionally that they would do anything for him. The closest thing he had was his mother who was hardly ever around. She slept amongst the town, usually a crappy attempt at making some side money, it didn't matter who it was. She would sleep with the dirtiest men she could find if she had to. Kageyama wasn't sure exactly how she died, he was only 5 after all. But from the gossip and remarks his father had made, he assumed she had finally contracted some sort of sex disease and died.

"I'm going to die, I know I am. But I knew I couldn't live with myself if I had to watch her die," he whispered beneath his breath, popping the candy into his mouth and letting the flavors melt into his tongue.

"Not if I can help it," Kageyama looked up and met Hinata's eyes as he said it. He wasn't sure why he said it or if he really meant it, but he knew he couldn't just sit there.

"Thank you," was all he got in reply before the sound of a door sliding open was heard and Udea stood before them, but this time with a man at her side.


End file.
